Christian McBride is an American jazz bassist, bandleader and composer. He has appeared on more than 400 recordings as a sideman, and is an eleven-time Grammy Award winner.

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Christian McBride (born May 31, 1972) is an American jazz bassist, bandleader and composer. He has appeared on more than 400 recordings as a sideman, and is an eleven-time Grammy Award winner.\n

McBride has performed and recorded with a number of jazz musicians and ensembles, including Freddie Hubbard, McCoy Tyner, Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny, Joe Henderson, Diana Krall, Roy Haynes, Chick Corea, Wynton Marsalis, Eddie Palmieri, Joshua Redman, George Duke, and Ray Brown's \"SuperBass\" with John Clayton, as well as with pop, hip-hop, soul, and classical musicians like Sting, Paul McCartney, Celine Dion, Isaac Hayes, The Roots, Queen Latifah, Kathleen Battle, Renee Fleming, Carly Simon, Bruce Hornsby, and James Brown.\n

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Early life

McBride was born in Philadelphia on May 31, 1972. After starting on bass guitar, McBride switched to double bass. He is a graduate of the Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts and studied at the Juilliard School.\n

Later life and career

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McBride was heralded as a teen prodigy when he joined saxophonist Bobby Watson's group, Horizon, at the age of 17. From age 17 to 22, McBride played in the bands of older musicians such as Watson, Freddie Hubbard, Benny Golson, Milt Jackson, J. J. Johnson and Hank Jones, as well as his peers such as Roy Hargrove, Benny Green, and Joshua Redman. In 1992, jazz bassist Ray Brown formed a group called SuperBass with McBride and Brown protégé John Clayton. The group released two albums: SuperBass: Live at Scullers (1997) and SuperBass 2: Live at the Blue Note (2001).\n

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McBride was a member of saxophonist Joshua Redman's Quartet in the early 1990s with pianist Brad Mehldau and drummer Brian Blade. McBride began leading his own groups in 1995 after the release of his debut album Gettin' to It (Verve). Saxophonist Tim Warfield, pianists Charles Craig and Joey Calderazzo, and drummers Carl Allen and Greg Hutchinson are among the musicians who played in McBride's early groups. From 2000 to 2008, McBride led his own ensemble, the Christian McBride Band, with saxophonist Ron Blake, pianist/keyboardist Geoffrey Keezer, and drummer Terreon Gully. The band released two albums: Vertical Vision (Warner Bros., 2003) and Live at Tonic (Ropeadope, 2006).\n

McBride appeared as a featured collaborator on Dave Brubeck's 1995 album Young Lions & Old Tigers. Brubeck composed the track \"Here Comes McBride\" as a piano and double bass duet for the two musicians. A review in PopMatters described the piece as having a jaunty blues feel that reflected Brubeck's roots in stride piano.\n

In 1996, McBride contributed to the AIDS benefit album Offbeat: A Red Hot Soundtrip produced by the Red Hot Organization.\n

McBride primarily plays double bass; however, he is equally adept on bass guitar. He played both on the album The Philadelphia Experiment, which included keyboardist Uri Caine and hip-hop drummer Ahmir \"Questlove\" Thompson. Other projects have included tours and recordings with the Pat Metheny Trio, the Bruce Hornsby Trio, and Queen Latifah. Like Paul Chambers, McBride can solo by playing his bass arco style.\n

In 2006, McBride was named to the position of Creative Chair for Jazz with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, taking over from Dianne Reeves. He was signed to a two-year contract that was renewed for an additional two years. He was succeeded by Herbie Hancock in 2010.\n

McBride performed with Sonny Rollins and Roy Haynes at Carnegie Hall on September 18, 2007, in commemoration of Rollins' 50th anniversary of his first performance there. McBride was also tapped by CBS to be a producer for the tribute to Rollins on the 2011 Kennedy Center Honors broadcast.\n

In 2008, McBride joined John McLaughlin, Chick Corea, Kenny Garrett and Vinnie Colaiuta in a jazz fusion supergroup called the Five Peace Band. They released an album in February 2009 and completed their world tour in May of that year, as Brian Blade took over for Vinnie Colaiuta as drummer in Asia and some US concerts. The album Five Peace Band Live won the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group\n

In 2011, McBride released his first big band album, The Good Feeling, for which he won the Grammy for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Performance. For 2026 Grammy Awards, he got a nomination for the album Windows - Live in the Best Jazz Performance category alongside Chick Corea & Brian Blade.\n

McBride has led several groups: Inside Straight, featuring alto/soprano saxophonist Steve Wilson, vibraphonist Warren Wolf, pianist Peter Martin and drummer Carl Allen; a trio featuring pianist Christian Sands and drummer Ulysses Owens, Jr. (and later, drummer Jerome Jennings); his 18-piece big band; an experimental funk group called A Christian McBride Situation with pianist/keyboardist Patrice Rushen, turntablists DJ Logic and Jahi Sundance, saxophonist Ron Blake and vocalist Alyson Williams; the New Jawn, featuring trumpeter Josh Evans, saxophonist Marcus Strickland, and drummer Nasheet Waits; and most recently (starting in 2022), Ursa Major, featuring saxophonist Nicole Glover, guitarist Ely Perlman, pianist/keyboardist Mike King, and drummer Savannah Harris.\n

In March 2016, McBride was named artistic director of the Newport Jazz Festival, succeeding the festival's founder and artistic director, George Wein. He stepped down in September 2025.\n

McBride hosts NPR's radio show, Jazz Night In America.\n

Personal life

Christian is married to jazz singer and educator Melissa Walker. Walker, with contributions by McBride, leads the Jazz House Kids, a jazz school in their home town of Montclair, New Jersey. Each summer, they both appear at the Montclair Jazz Festival, along with student ensembles led by the instructors, professional ensembles composed of instructors, and guest acts.\n

McBride shared the story of his first encounters with Freddie Hubbard in \"The Gig\" and his relationship with James Brown in \"Mr. Soul On Top\" on The Moth Radio Hour, a radio show and podcast devoted to story-telling.\n

James Moody Jazz Festival

McBride curates and advises the annual James Moody Jazz Festival, which is held at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) in Newark, NJ.\n

Discography

As leader/co-leader

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Collaborations
\nWith Roy Hargrove and Stephen Scott\n

Parker's Mood (Verve, 1995)

With Nicholas Payton and Mark Whitfield\n

Fingerpainting: The Music of Herbie Hancock (Verve, 1997)

As The Philadelphia Experiment
\n(with Uri Caine, Ahmir \"Questlove\" Thompson, Pat Martino, John Swana, Larry Gold and Aaron Levinson)\n

The Philadelphia Experiment (Ropeadope, 2001) – rec. 2000

With Chick Corea and Steve Gadd\n

Super Trio: Live at The One World Theatre, April 3rd, 2005 (Mad Hatter Productions, 2006) – Live rec. 2005

With Hank Jones and Jimmy Cobb\n

West of 5th (Chesky, 2006)

With Craig Taborn and Tyshawn Sorey\n

Flaga: Book of Angels Volume 27 (Tzadik, 2016) – rec. 2015 as part of John Zorn's Book of Angels series

Compilation\n

It's Christmas on Mack Avenue (Mack Avenue, 2014)

As sideman

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References

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External links

Official website
'Ep. 29: Featuring 6-time Grammy Award winning bassist Christian McBride' Interview by Tigran Arakelyan
\"Industry Q&A with Christian McBride \", Jazzfuel.com, 26 November 2019.
Mack Avenue Artist Page
Chris M. Slawecki, \"Christian McBride Throws Down\", AllAboutJazz, May 23, 2006. Retrieved September 28, 2007
David Miller, \"Live at Tonic\", AllAboutJazz.com, May 21, 2006. Retrieved August 11, 2007
Donald True Van Deusen, \"Christian McBride: Bass Beautiful\" AllAboutJazz, October 6, 2004 Retrieved August 11, 2007
Todd S. Jenkins, \"The Philadelphia Experiment\", AllAboutJazz.com, July 1, 2001. Retrieved August 11, 2007
Nate Chinen, \"A Situation Is Brewing, Acoustic and Fierce\", New York Times, June 28, 2007. Retrieved March 8, 2009
Christian McBride Band MySpace Page
Conversation With Christian McBride, 10/01/2007
Christian McBride telling a story entitled \"The Gig\" on The Moth podcast
Conversation with Christian McBride - State of Mind, April 2006
Interview with Christian McBride for the NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) Oral History Program July 18, 2015

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Early life

Later life and career

Personal life

James Moody Jazz Festival

Discography

As leader/co-leader

As sideman

See also

References

External links

Christian McBride

Broadcast History